A highly profitable organization

Investors fixated on the quick gains that can be racked up on Internet stocks missed one the year_s more spectacular runs. Shares in San Diego, California-based cellular phone company Qualcomm--not e-Qualcomm, i-Qualcomm or Qualcomm.com--have surged more than 1,200 percent in the past year and show no signs of slowing down. In trading Friday the shares were up 30 points to about 375, and one analyst is saying they could reach 450 in the next year. Oddly enough, the stock surge coincides with the company_s decision to shrink by shedding units that delivered revenues but were in markets where margins are getting squeezed. And, yes, there is a link to the Internet. "The story with Qualcomm continues to get better every day," said David Powers, an analyst with financial services company Edward Jones. "The two fastest growing industries are the Internet and wireless, and Qualcomm is in the middle of this wireless Internet tornado." Although Qualcomm will lose a significant portion of its revenue by selling some divisions, investors are salivating at the company_s high-speed wireless technology and how it dovetails with the explosion in handheld Internet-capable devices. "Royalties are almost pure profit and the semiconductor business has high profit margins," Powers said. "When you combine the two, which is mostly what you_ll have when they sell the handset business, you have a highly profitable organization."